Tyler quietly took the small copper pot from beneath his sleeve and checked it once more while no one was paying attention.

The fact that he had managed to bring it this far still felt almost absurd.

Before boarding, the guards had searched everyone, but the inspection had not been nearly as thorough as he expected. They had relied mostly on metal detectors and quick body scans, likely because none of them imagined that sector participants could carry anything truly valuable.

The strange part was that the copper pot had not triggered the detector at all.

Not even once.

Tyler slipped it back into his sleeve again and leaned against the cabin wall.

"Well," he thought, "this thing was never ordinary copper anyway."

Even in his old world, the pot had already ignored logic more times than he could count. If it truly was made from some absurd heavenly material beyond mortal understanding, then a simple machine from Libria detecting it had probably never been possible.

After all, even immortal-grade detection arrays had failed to sense it properly before.

Compared to that, Capital scanners meant very little.

The train cabin assigned to Tyler was simple but comfortable by Capital standards—far cleaner than anything in Sector 11. A narrow bed, smooth walls, soft lighting, and controlled temperature made the place feel almost unreal after everything he had seen in the sectors.

He lay down without removing his shoes.

The train itself had not yet resumed full movement.

Some delay had occurred while additional cargo was loaded from Sector 5.

Heavy containers had been brought aboard at one of the restricted stations, and because of that, the schedule stretched longer into the night.

Tyler had already noticed the pause, but he closed his eyes anyway.

Sometime later, the cabin door opened carefully.

Two small figures slipped inside.

The movement was quiet enough for someone ordinary to miss, but Tyler noticed immediately.

He did not open his eyes.

A moment later, the mattress shifted slightly.

Then again.

Tansy and Rose quietly climbed into the bed beside him.

Neither of them spoke.

They simply lay down close, one on each side, clearly trying to hide how frightened they still were.

Tyler understood immediately.

They were not here for conversation.

They were simply afraid.

And tonight, fear had become heavier than pride.

So he pretended not to notice.

By morning, the result created exactly the kind of misunderstanding he expected.

When Tyler stepped out of his cabin, Victor and Kennedy were already in the corridor.

Both men looked at him.

Then looked past him toward the two sisters stepping out behind him.

Victor’s mouth twitched awkwardly.

Kennedy’s expression became deeply complicated.

Tyler ignored both reactions completely.

He had no intention of explaining anything.

A short while later, the train began slowing.

The Capital had finally come into view.

Tyler stood near the wide glass window together with the others.

At first, what appeared outside made even him pause.

It was not what he had expected.

Above the distant city floated an enormous trapezoid-shaped structure suspended high in the sky, rotating slowly like a massive artificial monument above the Capital itself.

Its metallic surface reflected sunlight in shifting angles while countless energy lines pulsed faintly beneath it.

"This," Aruna said proudly as she stepped beside the window, "is the Capital. It was built by the First Citizen seventy years ago. It is the dream of everyone in this world to live here."

The others stared without blinking.

Even Tansy forgot her fear for a moment.

Tyler’s eyes narrowed instead.

He immediately understood what he was seeing.

"So this is where all that Carbonyx energy goes," he thought.

A floating structure of that scale could only exist through absurd energy consumption.

The sectors bled for this.

The mines existed for this.

The electricity denied to ordinary people existed to keep this city floating.

Soon the train reached the station.

When they stepped outside, the full scale of the Capital became overwhelming.

The station alone looked larger than entire blocks of Sector 11.

Smooth platforms stretched endlessly under bright light. Screens floated above moving crowds. Automated systems moved cargo silently. The air even smelled cleaner.

For Victor and Kennedy, the place was openly shocking.

Neither of them could hide it. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Even Rose stood staring in every direction.

Then Tyler noticed another group nearby.

Several people walked past wearing thick diving-like suits fitted with reinforced helmets and pressure tubing.

The design was instantly familiar.

He had already seen it in Veena’s recordings.

"Sector 2," Tyler muttered quietly.

Those were underwater workers.

He recognized their standard field uniforms immediately.

By comparison, Victor and Kennedy still wore visible mining uniforms from Sector 11, which made their origin obvious to anyone paying attention.

---

"Alright. Since I am your guide, you will follow my servant from this point onward," Aruna said while adjusting the sleeve of her glittering outfit as though even speaking to them felt like unnecessary effort. "He will lead you where you need to go, and all of you should remember one thing very clearly—do not cause trouble here. If any of you embarrass me, I will personally make sure none of you return alive."

She smiled while saying it, which somehow made the threat sound even colder.

Before anyone could respond, a sleek flying car descended beside the platform. Its metallic body reflected the station lights like polished glass. Aruna stepped inside without looking back, and moments later the vehicle rose smoothly into the air and flew toward the floating Capital structure hanging high above the city.

The chosen participants were left standing on the platform with only one attendant remaining.

He was a man dressed in a strangely elegant outfit that looked almost theatrical—tight at the waist, open at the chest, with silver details stitched into dark fabric that made him look less like a servant and more like someone prepared for performance.

He studied the five chosen calmly before speaking.

"Before we go inside," he said, "all of you need to change properly."

A short while later, they were guided into a long caravan van divided into separate private compartments.

Each participant received one section.

Inside each compartment was a small bathing area with warm water already prepared, fresh towels, and neatly arranged clothing placed behind a glass panel.

For Tansy, Rose, Victor, and Kennedy, even that level of comfort already felt overwhelming.

Tyler stepped inside his assigned section quietly.

The warm water washed away the dust of Sector 11 faster than he expected, and when he finished, he looked toward the clothing arranged for him.

The choices were absurdly colorful.

Bright fabrics, decorative coats, embroidered jackets, and clothes clearly chosen to make sector participants look presentable for Capital viewing.

Tyler ignored most of them.

In the end, he selected a simple black outfit.

It was clean, fitted well, and most importantly did not attract attention.

As he adjusted the sleeve, someone knocked lightly on his compartment door.

Tyler opened it.

The servant stood outside.

His expression remained perfectly calm.

Without a word, he handed Tyler a small box.

Tyler took it carefully, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"What is this, sir?" he asked in a deliberately ordinary tone.

The servant leaned slightly closer and lowered his voice until it was barely above a whisper.

"Here," he said. "Let the Embers burn."

Then he immediately straightened and walked away without waiting.

Tyler remained standing at the doorway for a moment.

That single phrase was enough.

He had not expected a rebel contact to appear this quickly inside the Capital route itself, much less disguised as a servant attached to Aruna’s escort.

He closed the door and placed the box on the table.

Beside it lay a folded paper note.

Tyler opened it first.

The handwriting was rough but clear.

We did as promised, but it was not easy sneaking this into the Capital. If you want more things moved inside later, it will cost more.

Tyler stared at the note for two seconds.

Then muttered quietly, "These bastards really charge for everything."

He took a lighter from the table, burned the paper completely, and crushed the ash inside the metal tray.

Only then did he open the box.

Inside lay a small vial.

Beside it rested a glowing purple stone no larger than a thumb joint.

The moment Tyler saw it, his expression sharpened.

The stone pulsed faintly with inner light.

It looked far purer than ordinary sector ore.

"The refined form..." he murmured.

Then more quietly:

"Carbonyx."